Raimondo unveils blueprint to boost affordable housing

PROVIDENCE — General Treasurer Gina Raimondo, a Democratic candidate for governor, rolled out an affordable-housing platform Tuesday that includes a plan to “drastically reduce” homelessness over 10 years.

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By
KAREN LEE ZINER
Posted Apr. 30, 2014 @ 12:01 am

PROVIDENCE — General Treasurer Gina Raimondo, a Democratic candidate for governor, rolled out an affordable-housing platform Tuesday that includes a plan to “drastically reduce” homelessness over 10 years and support for more affordable housing in the state.

At a news conference at Crossroads Rhode Island, Raimondo released her “Homeowners’ Bill of Rights,” that is also intended to hold banks accountable and keep families in their homes.

“I’ve been involved with efforts to help reduce homelessness since I was in law school, but it’s now that I’ve become a mother that I have a renewed sense of urgency,” Raimondo said.

“It’s wrong for kids to not have a home; how can we expect them to learn if they spent the night sleeping in a car or shelter? We need a strategic approach to providing affordable housing and growing the economy in a way that leaves no one behind,” Raimondo said.

The Homeowners’ Bill of Rights, in part:

Would require banks to prove “that the value of foreclosure outweighs the value of modifying the home loan before denying homeowners the opportunity to modify their loan.”

Ensure that homeowners can access professional, confidential housing and foreclosure counseling, home-ownership resources and neighborhood-based foreclosure intervention. The government’s role would be to “widely disseminate” such programs.

Create a “duty of agency,” through legislative enactment, for all mortgage brokers operating in the state, so that brokers “are legally required to work in the best interests of consumers.”

Increase transparency between lenders and homeowners.

Raimondo’s plan to ensure that housing remains affordable and accessible to low- to middle-income families includes using fair-share requirements, which would set aside a percentage of new developments for affordable housing, “and ensuring that our municipalities have the resources and flexibility they need to meet affordable housing mandates.”

Her plan to fight homelessness was less specific. Among other things, Raimondo said the state should increase the supply of and access to affordable permanent housing for very-low-income households and make the homeless-response system “a well-oiled machine.”

She also called for increasing the supply of, and access to, permanent housing that is affordable to very-low-income households.

She said the plan is consistent with an existing strategic blueprint, “Opening Doors Rhode Island,” that was developed in 2012 by the Rhode Island Housing and Resources Commission and nonprofit and service providers across the state.

Noting that the blueprint already exists, she said, “Now it’s time to fund and implement that plan.”